T-shirts for Munsil
Len Munsil supporters Virgil and Mary Jo Anderson of Fountain Hills enjoy the moment as they mingle with fellow Republicans at the Hyatt-Regency in Phoenix on primary night. Mr. Munsil won the GOP gubernatorial primary.

She’s the one who’s known and the one with the record of public service, Governor Napolitano said the day after Republicans nominated conservative activist Len Munsil as her general election foe.
Animated and appearing fresh after the Sept. 12 primary, in which she was unopposed, the Democratic governor told her weekly news briefing she takes nothing for granted, despite polls that for a year have shown her beating all comers.
“I have to run hard,” she said. “I anticipate having a robust eight weeks, a robust campaign, and I look forward to talking to Arizona voters. I’ve been out and about every weekend and most nights.”
On Sept. 12 Mr. Munsil, whose grassroots operations turned polls on their heads, beat Don Goldwater, with nearly 50 percent of the vote. Mr. Goldwater had led Mr. Munsil in all polls leading up to Election Day.
A populist Democrat, Ms. Napolitano says she expected Mr. Munsil to win by the margin he did, but claimed she didn’t know much about him.
“I know he was a lobbyist down at the Capitol for kind of a social conservative agenda,” she said. “I know he’s a lawyer, as I am, but in terms of public service, however, he doesn’t really have a record — kind of an unknown.”
Mr. Munsil is the founder of the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a family values lobbying organization that has promoted Prop. 107 to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and public benefits for domestic partners. That is just one vision for Arizona that Ms. Napolitano, a former U.S. attorney and state attorney general, does not share.
“I oppose same-sex marriage, but that’s already Arizona law, and that law has been upheld in our state courts . . .” she said. “It’s not just about marriage; it’s about any benefits for any kind of domestic partner arrangement. To me that’s way different than just a gay marriage ban.”
Mr. Munsil’s campaign mantra that he is a Reagan conservative provided an opening for a left hook at the news briefing.
“I’m kind of curious which Reagan conservative values he’s talking about,” the governor said. “If I recall when Ronald Reagan was governor of California, he raised taxes. Is that what Len Munsil is trying to do here≠ I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ve cut taxes since I’ve been governor.”
She said her record as governor of a state that has created 330,000 new jobs since she took office and is the first or second fastest growing state should be compared with that of Mr. Munsil, who has been campaigning since he stepped down as head of the CAP.
“I do have a day job,” Ms. Napolitano said. “I’m not like Len Munsil, who can now campaign full time. I’m also the governor full-time…
“To me, Arizonans know who I am. I’m just going to lay out my vision for Arizona and how we keep moving forward in the past three-and a-half years,” she said.
More than 257,000 Republicans voted in the primary and more than 127,000 for Mr. Munsil. Mike Harris received 6.2 percent of the vote, and Gary Tupper 3.7 percent.
In Maricopa and Pima, the state’s two most populous counties, Mr. Munsil received more than 96,000 votes.
In the Democrat primary, the unopposed Ms. Napolitano received 53,000 fewer votes than all the Republican candidates statewide and nearly 140,000 votes in Maricopa and Pima counties.
The gubernatorial candidates will receive nearly $700,000 each in Clean Elections funding for the general election.
Debate challenge
Mr. Munsil has challenged Ms. Napolitano to debate every week before the Nov. 7 general election.
“It is important for the people of Arizona to get a chance to see the difference between my vision for Arizona and Janet Napolitano’s record of the worst crime rate in America, 5 million illegal crossings and an educational system that is failing to educate our children well,” Mr. Munsil said in a press release Sept. 14. “Voters deserve a chance to see the candidates for governor talking about the important issues facing Arizona.”
Ms. Napolitano told reporters Sept. 13 she, Mr. Munsil and Libertarian Barry Hess will have a Clean Elections debate in Phoenix and she’d like to see debates in southern and northern Arizona “because the governor is the governor for the entire state, not just for Maricopa County. So we’ll see if we can get those scheduled.”
Mr. Munsil’s vision of Ms. Napolitano is that of a governor out of touch with most Arizonans. When he announced his candidacy, he said his decision was based on God’s influence and he has stated that God has played a role in previous Arizona elections.
Ms. Napolitano supporters have said their vision of Mr. Munsil is as a religious zealot.
And the wide leads over Mr. Munsil that polling reported for months will narrow now that there are only three candidates in the race, Ms. Napolitano said.
As the race neared primary day, Mr. Goldwater was hampered by a late qualification for public funding. Mr. Munsil gained momentum with last-week mailers hitting on what he said was Mr. Goldwater’s change in position on abortion and a television endorsement from Sen. John McCain.
Political observers then began to talk about a “horse race” between the two leading candidates.
“Some in the media will characterize it as a horse race,” Ms. Napolitano said. “We’re not horses. I’m not a horse, Len Munsil is not a horse, Barry Hess is not a horse. We are candidates for public office. This is not a horse race. This is a campaign about the future of our state.”
Other statewide races
Former teacher Jason Williams will represent the Democrats in the state schools superintendent race in November, having defeated former State Sen. Slade Mead in the primary by a 16,000-vote margin.
“I think our message is a powerful one, that we finally [need] an experienced educator running our schools,” Mr. Williams said.
He also credited his grassroots campaign.
“I pounded the pavement in every corner of this state since day one,” he said.
The difference in the election was rural Arizona, where Mr. Williams defeated Mr. Mead in every county. Even in Maricopa County, where pundits expected Mr. Mead to excel, Mr. Williams trailed his opponent by only 77 votes.
Mr. Williams will face Republican incumbent Tom Horne in November.
In the Republican primary for state mine inspector, former State Rep. Joe Hart narrowly defeated Larry Nelson, a former administrator in the Mine Inspector’s Office. Mr. Hart, who won by about 3,200 votes, has no Democrat opponent in the November election.
Reporter Jim Small contributed to this article.